Episode 285
“…So it happened.”
[It’s a flash spear Ignis, so you bet a pretty big one.]
Ramon I nodded with a heavy face at the words of the other person in the communication sphere.
Class 6 artifacts, especially weapons, are tactical weapons that allow their owners to demonstrate superhuman strength even if only for a short period of time. Moreover, the magic contained in Ignis is most effective when knights charge with spears.
Among the few class 6 artifacts known to the world, it is literally a national treasure-level weapon with proven offensive power.
If things go wrong, Tria will lose too much.
Ramon I expressed his concern and made a request once again to the other person in the communication zone.
“That’s why you must keep your promise.”
Since it was the other person, it almost looked like he was begging.
[of course. No need to worry. You’re not doubting the Empire’s capabilities, right?]
Ramon’s stiff expression softened slightly at the words that followed.
“That may be so. But the matter is so important that we need to do our part…”
[No. How can you go through such trouble when you have put your national treasure on the line? We alone are enough.]
There is no need.
Don’t interfere unnecessarily.
Both of them knew the true meaning behind the polite refusal.
But Ramon just smiled and lowered his head. Because the other person was too big to show any sign of displeasure or concern.
“Thank you, His Majesty the Prince, for your consideration.”
[Not much to say.]
Second Prince Baros Van Ares explained the strategy once again as if he was trying to be considerate of Ramon.
[McLain is not an empire, so talent is limited. In order to meet His Majesty’s request, a renowned talent in the kingdom will have no choice but to move, and it will soon become a noose that tightens around their necks.]
Nod.
As Ramon bit his lip and nodded, Prince Baros smiled.
[I will lay the groundwork for you in that way, so Your Highness can take the lead in the alliance again by blaming McLane right after the ‘tragedy’ of Tahiti occurred.] “
Then, as for Ignis…”
[Before that, I will find it for you here. So you don’t have to worry. Even if we can’t find it, we will give you corresponding compensation.]
It is a corresponding compensation.
How much can one put on the value of a country’s national treasure, or even a class 6 artifact?
However, the person who said those words was the second prince, who was likely to be the next emperor.
Ramon nodded, trying hard to hide his worry.
“If that’s the case, I’ll be at ease.”
[Thank you for your cooperation.]
The deal between the two is concluded and Baros is about to end the communication.
“Ah, Your Majesty the Prince. I understand that you have not entered into holy marriage yet.”
[…Is that so?]
“I have an older woman, and she is famous throughout the kingdom for being beautiful and talented. If you don’t mind me…”
[….]
Ramon I’s Glitter The eyes did not want to let him go.
* * *
“It seems the King of Tria was quite impatient to give up Ignis as collateral.”
“If we had Tria’s symbol in our hands, we wouldn’t be able to do anything foolish. But I feel a little uneasy that we accepted it so easily.”
“Since you said you would return it, isn’t that what it means?”
“Well, Tria’s situation must be serious. Looking at your report, it looks like it’s almost on the verge of bankruptcy.”
“Yes, that’s right. So, they must have put that condition on it.”
There was a condition that King Ramon I added when allowing Ignis to pledge.
– Instead, I would like McLane to sign a non-aggression pact with our union, specifically the Kingdom of Tria and Liberty Terronan.
non-aggression pact.
If you want a non-aggression pact with a neighboring country when you are not at war, there is only one reason.
“If we take care of Donati Pelo, the three countries will take care of the rest.”
“If their national power is weakened due to war within the coalition, it will be easy to eventually attract them as Your Majesty wishes…” “The
total strength of the coalition will be greatly weakened. That is also difficult… If we go to war You can’t stop it, right?”
“The King of Tria’s will seemed firm because he said he would even give Ignis.”
“Then there is nothing we can do. All we can do is help the war end as quickly as possible.”
As a cruel smile appeared on Logan’s lips, Damian suddenly trembled with an ominous feeling.
“What are you going to do?”
“Oh, I’ll tell you that when the envoy comes. For now, let’s think of a way to grant Tria’s request.”
Change the subject with a meaningful smile.
Now Damian seemed to know what Logan’s habit meant.
‘I’m guessing he was thinking of something that would make me or Finance Minister Dwayne throw a fit…’
I wonder if he will figure it out on his own.
‘Let’s pay attention.’
Damian concluded that.
Unlike Finance Minister Dwayne, whose blood pressure consistently rises every time, Damien has already given up half the time.
When Damian didn’t say anything, Logan immediately changed the topic of conversation.
“Now who should we send? It would be better to send a few strong people who are not noticeable. Those who are also loyal.”
“Considering that the knights might protest, I think we need to be careful about our appointments.”
“yes.”
It was necessary to commit assassination for the benefit of the country.
Even though the loyalty of McLane knights is high, it is not something that just anyone can do.
“…It would have been perfect to have Bourdelle at a time like this.”
Logan was once again disappointed with the timing.
As a demon hunter, he is close to the level of superhuman and is a bow master who will eventually become a superhuman.
Bourdel, who had been active as a superhuman mercenary for the Empire in his previous life, eventually became a general for the Empire and mainly played the role of sniping key figures in other wars of conquest. After the war of conquest, he became famous as a messenger who hunted down elements of resistance groups such as the Grandia Liberation Front.
Phantom Archer.
A name that no one knew 20 years later in a previous life.
However, it was even better because the only people who knew Bourdel’s name now were the demon beast hunters active near the demon forest in the northern part of the empire.
But…
“Lord Bourdel has also not been contacted since he entered the southern mountains in pursuit of King Ronian.”
“I know. What on earth is that guy Ronian doing there…”
Apart from preparations for war, his worries about his younger brother were growing, but Logan had no doubt that his younger brother would be fine.
No, to be exact, if I didn’t believe that, it would interfere with my other daily life, so I was forcing myself to think that way.
‘It will be fine. clearly.’
Logan shook his head to shake off the worries about his younger brother that were creeping up on him again, and focused on the present again.
“How much power will it take to defeat Donati Pelo and Prince Leon of Tahiti?”
“Even though Tahiti is a small country, about the size of our McLane territory, we will need at least five strong men who have reached the level of top knights. Or we can mobilize superhumans.”
“Is that so? Just quietly eliminating those two?”
“…Hey, Your Majesty. At least we kept it to a minimum. It is said that the Donati Fellows that he brought to Tahiti are two top-class knights and a 5th circle wizard. And the castle’s security is also strong.”
“…Really? Hmm.”
Logan frowned, but the truth was that in this situation, the options were limited.
Someone who can be absolutely trusted.
And someone with that level of skill.
Moreover, even though he is a knight, he does not hesitate in sneak attacks or raids.
Logan’s gaze naturally returned to his side.
At the same time, Victor, who received that gaze, took a step forward with an expressionless face.
“Please leave it to me. I will take care of it.”
Although he has no experience in assassination, he is too young to be considered a top-class knight.
Moreover, a relatively unknown knight who was always by his side.
If I were to approach Tahiti with proper camouflage, I didn’t think there would be any better route than this.
Damian seemed to have had a similar thought, but his reaction was slightly different.
“Your Majesty. Anyway, Sir Victor is too young and inexperienced to do something like this…”
“No, it’s okay.”
“yes?”
“Above all else, is there anyone you think would be better than Viktor?”
Other top-level knights are at least middle-aged.
Can those who have lived as knights for decades truly fulfill this role well?
Damian was speechless and had no choice but to remain silent.
‘We need people dedicated to doing the dirty work. Time to raise strong people. But now…’
The history of the kingdom’s dynasty was too short to create such shadows.
When Damien, whom Logan had criticized in his past life as a poisonous snake, bit his lip in regret as he thought of a suitable thought, Logan patted Viktor’s shoulder with confidence.
‘A noble slayer of the past.’
A person who made it his hobby to jump into the lord’s castle alone and cut off his head.
Even if I had not walked that path in this life, I believed that my talent would not have gone anywhere.
“Victor. Get the information from Damian, then make a list with Lia and report back. We can definitely succeed…”
But was that belief overconfident?
“Your Majesty. I will do this mission alone.”
Viktor spat out a meaningless word.
“…what?”
“I think I recently found a clue to getting over the wall. However, I feel like I need a real battle worth risking my life for, so I was thinking about asking for special leave and going to visit the Demon Lord.”
“under…?”
“But if I were to be given a mission, and it was a mission like this, it would be an opportunity to challenge my limits. Please leave it to me.”
thud.
Logan looked at Viktor in bewilderment as he knelt down while saying that.
No, what are you saying in this situation?
What is this all of a sudden?
“Victor. Fighting at the risk of one’s life and surpassing one’s limits is not as simple and easy as it sounds. It’s not in heroic novels for nothing!”
It’s not an easy level, and if you make a mistake, you’ll just die.
That’s why it’s something that only happens in stories.
For Logan, this was just common sense, but Viktor calmly raised a counterargument.
“Your Majesty, you have also achieved enlightenment in actual combat, right?”
“I?”
“Yes. I clearly remember the first battle I fought in as a soldier.”
“Ah…”
Battle of Sylvan Viscounty.
At the time, he was only halfway to advanced level, but there was a time when he crossed a wall while fighting an enemy high-ranking knight.
But that was….
“Isn’t that what I was talking about when I was at the peak of my inexperience? I was confident that I had already overcome half the wall, but I wanted to break through the rest of the shell. Moreover, that is different from challenging the wall of superhumans!”
It’s literally a completely different story.
But Victor’s eyes did not waver.
“Didn’t the Queen experience some changes during the last attack?”
“Uh…”
As Logan was momentarily speechless, Viktor’s eyes became more intense.
“I also felt that way at the time. It seems like all I need to do is take one more step, or even half a step, but I think that will be difficult with daily training.”
“But for such an important mission, for such a personal reason…”
“The moment I heard this, I thought this was it. I also keep in mind the direction of character design that His Majesty mentioned. And I think I will be able to find the path I want through this mission. It’s the same. You can succeed. Please believe me!”
What was the path you wanted to find here…?
Could it be assassination…?
Like that guy who pulverized me?
Logan was so dumbfounded that he couldn’t answer, but Damian suddenly opened his mouth.
“That superhuman I’ve only heard about . Are you talking about the characteristics of ? Could it be that Sir Victor…? Ha, then I agree.”
“Damian?”
Damian must have not noticed that Logan was looking at him with a dumbfounded expression. Damian began to mutter, lost in his own fantasy.
“That assassin-like specialty that even His Majesty couldn’t detect. . That’s cool. It’s still necessary…. Oh, that’s a slip of the tongue. Slurp of speech. Haha.”
When Damian, who was met with a murderous look in his eyes, slowly turned his head, Logan looked at Viktor with a calm face again.
“I’m asking you to do it now because it’s unavoidable, but I have no intention of raising a talented person like you to be an assassin. If it’s because of what I taught, try redesigning the characteristic design from the beginning. I’ll leave this matter to someone else.”
“I know.”
“Hmm?”
“I’m also not interested in the dark path of an assassin like those guys back then. I am just certain. Please leave it to me. If not, I guess I will have no choice but to go to the southern mountain range or the demonic forest like you.” ”
…You’re already hitting on an area that bothers me.”
“I’m sorry, Your Majesty.”
“No, no. Just before crossing the wall… did you clearly see beyond it?”
“Yes.”
The red-and-blue Odd-Eye looked straight into his eyes with confidence.
It was only then that Logan let go of his worries about this other younger brother and his condition. I was able to calmly sense it.
The four force cores in Viktor’s heart were pulsating as if they were about to explode at any moment. And the force flowing from those force cores spread throughout the body, preparing to move at will at any time. It was finished.
‘I don’t think it’s a mistake to say that it’s a top-class drama…’
Logan sighed slightly.
“You’re going to go find the Demon Lord if I don’t give you the mission?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“You’re doing this after hanging out with Ronian. It’s the same.”
“I want to become stronger and protect Your Majesty.”
As long as the person concerned came to this point, Logan couldn’t say anything else.
“Yes, I allow it. However, be sure to read the information carefully and give up immediately if you are not sure. Do you understand?”
“Yes! Thank you, Your Majesty!”
Three days after Victor’s loud cry,
Victor, who was the king’s bodyguard, could no longer be found anywhere in the royal castle.
